Is It Just Me, or Have Gun Prices Just Gone Crazy?

[Watchdog]

This is sort of a semi-rhetorical question, okay? I'm looking at a S&W Model 25-7 in .45 Colt on a popular auction site. It's supposedly new and unfired, in the matching box with tools and paperwork. And the reserve of $1700 (yes, $1700) has not yet been met. I have never seen a 25-7 priced this high.

Now, I know these guns are somewhat rare, Smith & Wesson having made only 2000 of them in 1989 only. I happen to have two of them, both with matching boxes, paperwork, and tools. They aren't unfired, but both are pretty pristine except for the turn line. And find me one of these that doesn't have a turn line. I'd rate either one of mine at 98%, maybe one of them at 99.5%.

So my question is this: Is $1700 (or more) totally unrealistic for one of these guns, or is this just more of the trending upward of S&W revolver prices, sort of similar to what's going on with the Model 28 now?

Just for the record, I've shot one of my 25-7s, and it's the most accurate S&W I've ever shot, bar none. See attached photo, which I don't think is doing too badly for an old guy wearing bifocals.

So I'm not looking for a hard and fast answer here...just looking for knowledgeable opinions on prices for these particular revolvers.

All comments and opinions will be appreciated.

EDIT: I just realized I posted this in the wrong forum. It should go in the S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present.

So if some kind admin wants to move it, I'd appreciate it.

 

[zonker5]

$1700 seems high to me, but I am seeing a lot of really high asking prices these days. Don't know that they are really selling at those prices.

 

[Watchdog]

$1700 seems high to me, but I am seeing a lot of really high asking prices these days. Don't know that they are really selling at those prices.

Yeah, it seems at least $500 too high to me. Or maybe I just happened to buy mine at the right time and got good deals on them, I don't know.

Thing is, I'm not really looking to buy the gun. But if the reserve is $1700, you aren't going to get it for less than that unless the auction tanks and the seller relists it at a lower reserve or no reserve at all.

What I'm really sort of trying to do here is get a ballpark idea of what I should ask for one of mine should I decide to sell it.

Thanks for your input.

 

[arjay]

All he needs is the buyer that wants one,doesn't have the time for,or interest in,the hunt.And cash to burn.

 

[H Richard]

arjay; you are pretty on target. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it places the "expected" value of lots of guns too high. I've seen guns listed on Gunbroker for mile high prices with reserves to match and they keep getting re-listed time after time. I think the sellers just have time to wait and don't care to make a sale unless the price gets to where they can't say no.

In my opinion that 25-7 is $800 - $900 overprice.

 

[Watchdog]

All he needs is the buyer that wants one,doesn't have the time for,or interest in,the hunt.And cash to burn.

Thank you for your reply. And you're correct, of course.

 

[clevolver]

I think sometimes sellers list a gun at an obscene reserve price because they don't really want to sell it, but do want to find out what it's worth.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

 

[Comrad]

That's what the American Pickers call the "I don't want to sell it price"

 

[pharmer]

That particular price is crazy. Almost 3X what I gave for this( and no, I didn't get it in the 20th century). Joe

 

[S&W45Colt]

How about the $450 642's with locks.

 

[A10]

That particular price is crazy. Almost 3X what I gave for this( and no, I didn't get it in the 20th century). Joe

Extremely early production run then? I'm thinkin' you meant 21st century.........

 

[italiansport]

What you are seeing IMO is the result of the contrived "assault weapons" and ammunition shortage. Last year after the election and the shooting tragedies by nut jobs that should be under lock and key many assumed that new laws would be passed severely restricting firearms availability.
While this has actually occurred in a few "Blue" States for the most part none of the radical changes the left wanted have come to pass.
What did happen with the sharp rise in assault weapon(ASKING) prices and ammunition as everyone opportunist saw a chance to make a killing on guns they owned or extra ammunition.
This has mostly subsided at least where I live and I saw AR15s **in the $600 range at the last gun show. Ammo; 22s excepted, has returned to high normal prices and is readily available here.
If everyone would just "BACK OFF" for a while supply would continue to catch up with demand and pricing will be adjusted accordingly.
Jim

**Right now from what I can see there seems to be a glut of AR15s available and I no longer see people walking around with them at gun shows with stupid prices on them.

 

[rburg]

Ah. Some minor complaints with the OPs post. First, NIB doesn't mean the gun is perfect. Some NIB guns aren't even operable, others have serious cosmetic issues. A NIB gun can vary all over the map, and some wear has nothing to do with firing. Shop wear in a busy gun shop can make a new gun look, not so new....

OK, the next issue is percentage ratings. I've complained many times that "your" rating for the gun is meaningless. What you must do is make your ratings confirm to what the rest of the gun world sees. If you don't, a gun can be worn out and you can still rate it at 100%, and it will still convey nothing to the next guy. So what it comes down to is if you and I both look at a gun, and give our objective rating, unless they match someone is wrong.

For an informative lesson, take a less than perfect gun to a group of guys who do guns. Take along pens and blank cards. Have each inspect the gun and then write down how they'd rate it, condition wise. Expect some pretty wild variations. A rating system that doesn't yield the same results from different individuals is worthless and ripe for abuse (read cheating).

Most of us who have been playing with guns for a while don't ever rate a gun higher than 98% Anyone rating a gun, and especially their own gun at 98.5% isn't to be trusted in their ratings. For a while we had a goof ball out on the west coast that rated his guns at things like 94.6% or other off the wall ratings. No, you really couldn't argue with him except to laugh and point out he wasn't being honest with his gun ratings. Ever wonder what the difference between a 92.3 and a 92.4 conditions was? My guess the best answer was it related to what he had for breakfast, not to a difference in the gun.

Watch the "big boys" and how they rate their guns. Most adhere to rating a perfect specimen at 98%. Remember NIB could be one submerged in salt water for a year, but never taken out of the box. Then showing just very minor signs of having been made or handled at 95%. A little lower and you drop to 90%. Notice no stops at 92% or anywhere else. If its not 95%, its 90%. And if you hand the gun to our esteemed forum owner and he doesn't agree with you, its probably the lower of the two suggestions. Not the higher as the seller would wish.

And what it all filters out to is unless you personally know the seller and how he rates guns, you probably won't be real happy if you're the buyer. I can offer up some bright spots. In the past I purchased a few guns from Old Towne Station (Jim Supica). I was always happy with how he rated guns and I always got a gun that was well on the high side of what I imagined. I've bought guns from David Carroll and had basically the same results. And then 4 years ago I bought a 1950 4th model 44 from Lee Jarrett. His condition comment wasn't %, it was just that he said he couldn't imagine one being better.

So when you're in the market as a buyer, you often get some hints as to how dependable the seller is. The big guys who either make a living or a side income on dealing generally need the great reputation. Anything else is just not acceptable. Its the other guys who occasionally get a little excited and "enhance" the guns attribute. Be wary.

 

[riversalmon]

I know if my wife told me I had to sell my pistol'es, that would tend to inflate my prices. oops.

 

[JSR III]

I think that prices have jumped a little over the past year.

Remember NIB could be one submerged in salt water for a year, but never taken out of the box.

Dick, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. I don't think that anyone would think of a gun submerged in its original box in salt water for a year as NIB even if it had the correct papers and tools.

Some folks do differ on the term NIB. To some it means a gun purchased directly from the factory or original dealer and owned by only one person and never sold, fired or touched.

To others, it is a gun that is still in its original box with original unopened tools and un three hole punched papers but that has gone through the hands of several owners. As long as it remains unfired and unmolested (a virgin) shall we say, it is still considered NIB.

I personally subscribe to the second option. I don't feel that I own my guns but am merely a caretaker. If I can purchase a package from someone that has remained a virgin even though it has been owned by several prior owners, I consider it NIB and will hopefully pass it along to another caretaker preserved in original condition.

Packages that are put together, with a box from the right timeframe even if in near perfect condition coud not be considered NIB. Perhaps they could be referred to as ANIADB (As New In A Different Box)

 

[BAM-BAM]

rburg..... well said....... why I don't buy/sell guns on line.....even pictures don't help a lot of the time due to lighting and "fudging"......guns that have been fire (outside the factory) no matter how well cared for ....... are to me, at best 95%


As a "nobody"........

In evaluating my guns I stop at "I would rate it as 95%+" which for me is a gun I would accept as "new" if I was going to buy it "new" at a gun shop. Said gun could be a 2014 model or 60 years old.

I always try to check out David Carroll's catalog.......and compare my gun to a similar one pictured and grade mine ....... plus (not likely) or minus against his.

Heck even a gun that has been in a sock drawer for 50 years will show indications of being in that drawer for 50 years.


One of the few "truly collectable" guns I've sold I pushed the buyer to meet me half way...... I think he thought it was because I didn't trust him... I had described the gun as 98%/lnib...... based on David Carroll's pictures and the independent opinions/ratings of 2 Pa Gun Collectors Assoc. members/gun dealers .....

But I wanted him to look at it and decide if he wanted it at the price I was asking......... if not..... we could both just go home or reach an mutual understanding/price. As an aside he bought the gun at the asking price.


JSRIII what about a truly new in box/ old stock gun...... poorly stored in a LGS backroom or warehouse for five years....... with rust under the grips........ I've seen it!

 

[Jack Flash]

Good shooting Watchdog! That is a really fine looking revolver as well, whatever it rates at percentage-wise.

I have to echo what the others say about the price being crazy high. Maybe that is the seller's starting point, and he can slowly lower it over a period of a few months... who knows? Does he have a lot of other guns for sale?

 

[Tony Marbury]

Yes the older smiths have skyrocketted
In price, its unbelievable, but when u think
About the difference in parts and the newer
Models having the lock on them, and the clip
Spring that never goes bad, and they never jam.
And has no recall issues (generally)
I think it was bound to happen.
The Rugers have
Went up too.
It was long overdue...IMHO.

 

[BoltThrower13]

I live in Massachusetts and since we have "Approved" new guns, everything is rarer. New Glocks are almost never sold here for example, so a beat up Gen 2 19 is $800 at times!

That being said, the old S&W wheel guns I love are now shooting up in price. It cost me $445 to get the Model 36 I wanted, sans original grips and no box or anything. Two years ago my Model 10 was $275, while probably more common most old revolvers were cheaper then.

I hate it. I want people to just buy polymer semi-autos so I can hog all the old revolvers!

 

[gutterman]

I bought a 4" nickel 25-5 about a year ago for $950 and I really thought I'd paid too much. But I really wanted it and other 25's were going for around $1100 plus at the time. But even seeing what prices have done in the last year $1700 seems out of touch. Maybe the seller is just "testing the waters".

 

[Watchdog]

Ah. Some minor complaints with the OPs post. First, NIB doesn't mean the gun is perfect. Some NIB guns aren't even operable, others have serious cosmetic issues. A NIB gun can vary all over the map, and some wear has nothing to do with firing. Shop wear in a busy gun shop can make a new gun look, not so new....

OK, the next issue is percentage ratings. I've complained many times that "your" rating for the gun is meaningless. What you must do is make your ratings confirm to what the rest of the gun world sees. If you don't, a gun can be worn out and you can still rate it at 100%, and it will still convey nothing to the next guy. So what it comes down to is if you and I both look at a gun, and give our objective rating, unless they match someone is wrong.

For an informative lesson, take a less than perfect gun to a group of guys who do guns. Take along pens and blank cards. Have each inspect the gun and then write down how they'd rate it, condition wise. Expect some pretty wild variations. A rating system that doesn't yield the same results from different individuals is worthless and ripe for abuse (read cheating).

Most of us who have been playing with guns for a while don't ever rate a gun higher than 98% Anyone rating a gun, and especially their own gun at 98.5% isn't to be trusted in their ratings. For a while we had a goof ball out on the west coast that rated his guns at things like 94.6% or other off the wall ratings. No, you really couldn't argue with him except to laugh and point out he wasn't being honest with his gun ratings. Ever wonder what the difference between a 92.3 and a 92.4 conditions was? My guess the best answer was it related to what he had for breakfast, not to a difference in the gun.

Watch the "big boys" and how they rate their guns. Most adhere to rating a perfect specimen at 98%. Remember NIB could be one submerged in salt water for a year, but never taken out of the box. Then showing just very minor signs of having been made or handled at 95%. A little lower and you drop to 90%. Notice no stops at 92% or anywhere else. If its not 95%, its 90%. And if you hand the gun to our esteemed forum owner and he doesn't agree with you, its probably the lower of the two suggestions. Not the higher as the seller would wish.

And what it all filters out to is unless you personally know the seller and how he rates guns, you probably won't be real happy if you're the buyer. I can offer up some bright spots. In the past I purchased a few guns from Old Towne Station (Jim Supica). I was always happy with how he rated guns and I always got a gun that was well on the high side of what I imagined. I've bought guns from David Carroll and had basically the same results. And then 4 years ago I bought a 1950 4th model 44 from Lee Jarrett. His condition comment wasn't %, it was just that he said he couldn't imagine one being better.

So when you're in the market as a buyer, you often get some hints as to how dependable the seller is. The big guys who either make a living or a side income on dealing generally need the great reputation. Anything else is just not acceptable. Its the other guys who occasionally get a little excited and "enhance" the guns attribute. Be wary.

I am the OP.

I appreciate the fact that you're a member of the SWCA, and you've been a member of this forum for around 14 years, whereas I've only been here since last year, okay?

But you seem just a bit too cocksure and full of yourself for me to take everything you say seriously. You've complicated my original post way more than necessary.

My semi-rhetorical question was simply based on what I read on the auction site, and that includes the NIB and unfired parts. And my question was based on the seemingly meteoric rise of prices in certain models of Smith & Wessons, not on what a bunch of guys who "play with guns" think.

I especially don't like the part where you state that someone who "rates their own gun at 98.5% isn't to be trusted". Tact isn't your strong point, is it? I'm sure I don't know as much about S&Ws as some of you SWCA gurus, but hinting that I'm not to be trusted is offensive to me, and really borders on a personal attack as far as I'm concerned, since it's me you're talking to. Oh, and I'm no goof ball, either (another descriptive noun guaranteed to win you a lot of friends).


"So what it comes down to is if you and I both look at a gun, and give our objective rating, unless they match someone is wrong."

What you're basically saying is that if I don't agree with your rating, or the SWCA or NRA's rating, something's wrong. Since you have the clout and knowledge base of the SWCA behind you, what you say, goes. Baloney.

"What you must do is make your ratings confirm to what the rest of the gun world sees."

I think the word you're looking for is "conform", not "confirm". Irregardless of that, you're wrong. I don't "must" do anything except adhere to the rules of this forum when I'm here, and "conform" is the wrong word to use with me.

I respect the SWCA for its knowledge and expertise, but that doesn't mean I'm going to kow-tow to them on every issue. I'm not a complete novice when it comes to Smith & Wessons, although I still have a lot to learn.

And this thing of "For an informative lesson, take a less than perfect gun to a group of guys who do guns." What kind of group of guys are you talking about? SWCA members? Licensed appraisers who are qualified to testify in court as to a gun's condition? NRA members? What do you mean by guys who "do guns"? Is that the same group of guys who "play with guns" (another poor turn of phrase)?

The gun I rated at 98.5% was appraised by a licensed appraiser. It's his assessment, not mine. It doesn't have one blemish on it other than a slight turn line, and I challenge you or anyone else to find me a 25-7 (or even a 25-9) that doesn't have a turn line on it. They're infamous for it, with that matte finish. You look at one wrong, it'll get a turn line on it.

You made no attempt to answer my question, but seemed intent on imparting your "expertise" to me and questioning my veracity and honesty.

My appraisal of your reply is that it's 90% hooey and didn't help me one bit. Rather than help me out by answering my question, you decided to make "minor complaints" about my post and sort of nitpick it to death.

I mean no offense to you for anything you said (you didn't really mean to offend me when you said I wasn't to be trusted, either, did you?). You may have meant well with your comments, but you used the wrong tone of voice and a poor choice of words in talking to me.

 

[Watchdog]

Good shooting Watchdog! That is a really fine looking revolver as well, whatever it rates at percentage-wise.

I have to echo what the others say about the price being crazy high. Maybe that is the seller's starting point, and he can slowly lower it over a period of a few months... who knows? Does he have a lot of other guns for sale?

He has one other gun that interests me. A 29-4 with unfluted cylinder and full lug 5-inch barrel...another gun with a $1700 starting price. Love to have it, but not at that price.

And yes, the $1700 is the starting price on the 25-7. He's had 4 bids on the 25-7 and 12 bids on the 29-4, and the reserve hasn't been met on either one.

I'm leaving them both alone. I don't care if he doesn't sell them, relists them at lower prices over the next few months or not...I don't wait for months on any gun.

I can't knock a seller for trying to get top dollar, but he'll get it from someone other than me, that's for sure.

 

[Watchdog]

What you are seeing IMO is the result of the contrived "assault weapons" and ammunition shortage. Last year after the election and the shooting tragedies by nut jobs that should be under lock and key many assumed that new laws would be passed severely restricting firearms availability.
While this has actually occurred in a few "Blue" States for the most part none of the radical changes the left wanted have come to pass.
What did happen with the sharp rise in assault weapon(ASKING) prices and ammunition as everyone opportunist saw a chance to make a killing on guns they owned or extra ammunition.
This has mostly subsided at least where I live and I saw AR15s **in the $600 range at the last gun show. Ammo; 22s excepted, has returned to high normal prices and is readily available here.
If everyone would just "BACK OFF" for a while supply would continue to catch up with demand and pricing will be adjusted accordingly.
Jim

**Right now from what I can see there seems to be a glut of AR15s available and I no longer see people walking around with them at gun shows with stupid prices on them.

I'm not sure what assault weapons, ARs, AKs, ammunition shortages, and left wing (or right wing) politics have to do with my question about a S&W Model 25-7 for sale, but thanks for playing anyway.

I do agree with you, though, about the decrease of the number of idiots walking around at gun shows with off-the-charts prices on their so-called "assault rifles". The ones who really got me were the ones who hung around outside the venue with a shopping cart filled with AR platform rifles and a big "For Sale" on the cart. What a bunch of maroons. I wouldn't have bought a gun from those guys if you put a gun to my head (pun intended).

 

[rburg]

I am the OP.

I especially don't like the part where you state that someone who "rates their own gun at 98.5% isn't to be trusted". Tact isn't your strong point, is it? but hinting that I'm not to be trusted is offensive to me, and really borders on a personal attack as far as I'm concerned, since it's me you're talking to.


"So what it comes down to is if you and I both look at a gun, and give our objective rating, unless they match someone is wrong."
b

Go back and read my post again. You quote what you want selectively. I didn't say you aren't to be trusted, what I said was left off your quote. Include the next 3 words, which were "in their ratings." I fear you've totally missed the point I was trying to make, and instead preferred to take personal offense.

So lets start over. And it includes my assessment of your licensed appraiser. Anyone who rates a gun at a ".5%" isn't worth a hoot. The entire reason for ratings is to convey to someone else some information. If you paid the appraiser, you got taken. The question then becomes could he, on a good day, appraise it again to the tenths of a percent? And better still, can you, me or 10 other gun nuts also come to that same conclusion? And of course the answer will be no.

I don't claim to be able to rate a gun the same as the next guy, licensed to do that or not. I personally have never met anyone licensed to appraise a Smith & Wesson. It would probably be fun to play that game. So I stand by my original thoughts. I've never met or heard of anyone that good. When someone, anyone, says they can do it, they're the ones full of your Hooey.

Notice I never claimed to be able to, just that when anyone else says they can, they're not to be trusted in their ratings. Your post tries to justify that which can't be justified. And that is my point all along. You are entitled to feel my post is hooey. Just as I don't trust anyone who feels they are expert enough to rate guns to the point where you accept them. When you or anyone else makes a post quoting a gun as being 98.5%, you're fooling yourself and trying to pull the wool over other peoples eyes.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

He has one other gun that interests me. A 29-4 with unfluted cylinder and full lug 5-inch barrel...another gun with a $1700 starting price. Love to have it, but not at that price.

And yes, the $1700 is the starting price on the 25-7. He's had 4 bids on the 25-7 and 12 bids on the 29-4, and the reserve hasn't been met on either one.

I'm leaving them both alone. I don't care if he doesn't sell them, relists them at lower prices over the next few months or not...I don't wait for months on any gun.

I can't knock a seller for trying to get top dollar, but he'll get it from someone other than me, that's for sure.

You can start a Gun at whatever You want and if it gets no bids than no one thinks it is worth that much.But when you start a Gun at .99 and the bidding gets to $1,700 but the reserve is not met,Someone thinks the Gun is worth $1,700.See what I mean?

 

[Ματθιας]

So my question is this: Is $1700 (or more) totally unrealistic for one of these guns, or is this just more of the trending upward of S&W revolver prices, sort of similar to what's going on with the Model 28 now?

To some potential buyers it's unrealistic, but "maybe" not to the seller. Perhaps, like others have been saying, the seller is fishing.

I do think, that firearms and ammo have and will continue to trend upward. Gone are the days of cases of ammo and firearms for under a $100.

 

[Watchdog]

Go back and read my post again. You quote what you want selectively.

No. I won't go back and read your post again. I've read it several times, because I was feeling a bit guilty that I may have been too harsh in my comments to you. I've now decided that I wasn't.

But you did say, "Anyone rating a gun, and especially their own gun at 98.5% isn't to be trusted in their ratings." Since I'm one of the ones who agrees that the gun (my own gun) is 98% or 98.5%, you're talking to me and suggesting that I am not to be trusted. Since I'm the OP, everything you say here, you're talking to me.

I'm not going to get into a who-said-what-and-what-did-they-mean-by-it type of debate with you or anyone else here. You want to play games with semantics, play them with someone else.

But this thing of me "trying to pull the wool over other peoples eyes?" Man, who do you think you are to say something like that to me? Some kind of Smith & Wesson God or something? You don't know me or a thing about me. This isn't the classifieds section. I'm not trying to sell the gun here. I was asking an opinion on gun prices and market value, nothing more, nothing less. Frankly, I wouldn't sell the gun to you if you offered me $3K for it.

I won't respond to any more of your comments, so don't waste your breath. Far as I'm concerned, you've hijacked and wrecked this whole thread as well as any troll I've ever run across on the Internet, and insulted me personally in the bargain.

You seem determined to have the last word on this. You're welcome to it. You're entitled to your opinion. You've read mine.

As one of my heroes, Forrest Gump, said, that's all I have to say about that.

 

[rwsmith]

Prices are high

Prices are high, but that's too high.

 

[handejector]

Ah, the percentage rating system.
Probably the most misunderstood item on this planet.

It is a pure mathmatical system, and, as such, IS very precise. Since the human eye and perception is not so precise, the system is basically useless.

The fact is, 1% of any gun's surface area is an EXACT amount of space, or probably more correctly- Area. If you take 1% of the surface of a 10" Model 29 Silhouette, you would have an area that has a definite number- for the sake of argument, let's say it is exactly 1/2 square inch. So, we have a great big gun that is missing 1/2 square inch of blue, but rates 99%. Now take a perfect 2 inch Terrier, and remove that same 1/2 square inch of blue. That poor little gun will be WAY below 99%, but it is missing the same amount of blue. That ain't fair!

It also gets real subjective. Some folks think every blem is 1%. So, a gun that is otherwise mint, but has 15 freckles, is an 85% gun to them. I hate to tell you, but a 6-1/2" Pre 29 with 15 freckles is way, Way, WAY above 85%.
I've seen people call a gun with light muzzle wear a 90% gun, when it would easily go 98%.

One day in the future, someone may invent the Acme Gun Grader. It will be a machine that has a compartment you clamp the gun into, close the door, and hit a button labelled "GRADE". The Acme will rotate the gun, open the cylinder, and scan the entire surface area with lasers. It will determine exactly how much wear is on the gun. You will get a printout with a pic of the gun and the serial number that will tell you that on March 19, 2014, Pre Model 29 #S166000 was graded at 98.4391% original finish.

Till the Acme is invented, I think I'll stick mainly to description and pics. Occasionally, I'll say a gun is easily 99% or something like that. That means you ain't gotta look for nothin- it ain't there.

 

[BigBill]

I seen a K22 target masterpiece 6" barrel going for $1,500 on gb in fair borderline fair++ condition. Now if you had one in excellent condition without a mark on it and the bluing at 99.999% how would you price it.

For decades I never seen any s&w, Colts, & rugers revolvers in 357 mag. For sale. Never, nada. Recently there coming out of the woodwork?

Really what is a deal? No one wants to accept the higher prices. It is what it is. Like the surplus military guys aren't much different. We've seen the low prices and now it's the same high prices on select guns. I got away from the surplus stuff figuring if I'm going to pay the higher prices I might as well enjoy the newer guns. I still enjoy shooting the military guns.
I just won't pay the very high prices. I'm happy to have the few I have.

My LGS is going crazy on the high prices on his used s&w revolvers. He's higher than the ones on gb. The 38's to 44mags are between $750 to $1,200 now. On the used guns. Between the local prices and the online prices I'm not sure what a fair price is now. I'm thinking a fair price on any s&w magnum any caliber is worth from $695 to $895. To me from what I'm seeing this seems to be the average going rate. Again to me. Of course I have seen them for double that price.

I just don't get it. A new s&w m57 is $1,000 so how can a used one be worth more when it's used. I'm torn between buying new or old. When my lgs had the $599/$699 sale on the n frames how could anyone pass them up. They didn't last long.

Someone did say the s&w m27 would climb right up there with the $2k python. Now I'm seeing pythons for $2,900.